It is known that Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) may be treated by providing a particular type of desensitization, known as eye movement desensitization reprocessing (EMDR). Early treatments centered on desensitization of eye movements.
Reference is made to U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,261 to Wilson which revealed a novel device based on a treatment process first reported in an article entitled xe2x80x9cEye Movement Desensitization: A New Treatment For Post-Traumatic Stress Disorderxe2x80x9d by F. Shapiro. In fact, the device for providing desensitizing eye movements described in this document has been successfully employed in the treatment of PTSD.
It has been proposed that other sensory stimuli may be utilized in a rhythmic manner to achieve the same effect. For example, the application of alternating auditory stimuli and/or tactile stimuli have achieved good results in the treatment of PTSD and many other emotional disorders.
A device which is capable of applying multiple stimuli, be it auditory, visual, or tactile, to a subject in a coordinated fashion would be a notable advance in the psychological treatment field.
In accordance with the present invention a novel and useful device for applying multiple stimuli to a subject for the treatment of trauma is herein provided.
The device of the present invention utilizes an audio source which provides a selected audio tone. Such audio tones may be internally generated or provided from an external source. The audio tones may be fed to audio speaker means, which may be in the form of a set of head phones. Each audio tone received may be adjusted as to volume and speed. The audio speaker means may also deliver selected audio tones to the left and right ears of the subject in a discrete alternate manner. Such alternation may also include the sequence of all sound being delivered to the left ear, all sound being delivered to the left and rights ears, and all sound being delivered to the right ear of the listener or patient. In this bridging manner, there is no time period in which sound is not being delivered to one of the ears of the listener. The audio tones may comprise pure notes or more complicated sonic patterns. Also, narratives such as, relaxation sounds, affirmations, prayers, and the like, may be delivered bilaterally or alternately to a patient""s ears. In addition, switch means may be provided for selecting either the internally generated audio source or an external audio source, according to the needs of the patient. Further, internally generated tones may consist of a single tone of varying pitch or successive tones on a scale, e.g. a scale of eight notes (CDEFGABC).
Means may also be found in the present invention for providing a tactile output to the patient commensurate with the alternating delivery of the audio tones. Such tactile delivery may take the form of a tactile probe which is graspable by the user and is activated by an electrical signal which initiates vibration of the probe. The probe vibration is generated by conventional motors, solenoids or similar devices, which may be found within a housing or tubing.
Although the device of the present invention may be manually applied or started, initiation may derive from other sources. For example, means may be included for quantifying a variable body characteristic. Such body characteristics may take the form of the patient""s pulse, body temperature, blood pressure galvanic skin response (GSR), eye blink rate, and the like. The particular body characteristic is quantified and averaged. An indicator is employed to measure the rate of change of the variable body characteristic. When such rate of change exceeds a certain predetermined amount, the delivery of selected audio tones may be altered accordingly. For example, a change in pulse rate may change the pitch of the tones being delivered alternatively to the ears of the user, may switch from an internally generated tones to an external audio source, from auditory stimuli to tactile and/or visual stimuli, and the like. Of course, such alternation characteristics of any sensory input may be preselected by the operator of the system of the present invention.
The audio and tactile portion of the system of the present invention may be used in conjunction with visual scanning devices such as that found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,343,261 and our U.S. Pat. No. 6,056,403, which is incorporated by reference in its entirety to this application. That is to say, alternating tones may be coordinated with alternating visual signals of varying types.
It may be apparent that a novel and useful device for applying stimuli to a subject for the purpose of therapy has been hereinabove described.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a device for applying therapeutic stimuli to a subject which employs multiple single sensory mode stimuli in a coordinated fashion.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for applying therapeutic stimuli to a subject which utilizes audio tones which are alternatively delivered to the left and rights ears of a subject.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for applying therapeutic stimuli to a subject which employs audio signals and tones that are delivered alternatively to the left and right ears of the subject and is triggered by a variable body characteristic, such as body temperature, the galvanic skin response, blood pressure, pulse rate, and the like.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a device for applying therapeutic stimuli to a subject which is useful as a desensitization apparatus, and, thus serves as a tool in psychological treatment.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for applying therapeutic stimuli to a subject which may be employed to treat an individual or a plurality of persons simultaneously, for example, in psychotherapy with couples.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a device for applying therapeutic stimuli to a subject which delivers multiple stimuli to a patient or patients and is manually adjustable, preprogrammed, or triggered by physiological events.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for applying therapeutic stimuli to a subject which is modular in nature and may be upgraded or downgraded commensurate with features desired by the therapist employing such a device.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for applying therapeutic stimuli which employs audio sources that are internally generated or found externally to the system.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a device for applying therapeutic stimuli to a subject which uses an audio signal that is directed individually and simultaneously to the ears of the patient in a sequential fashion.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a device for applying a variety of audio therapeutic stimuli to the ears of a subject or subjects in a alternating or bilateral fashion, such as tones, music, relaxation sounds, affirmations, prayers, and the like.
The invention possesses other objects and advantages especially as concerns particular characteristics and features thereof which will become apparent as the specification continues.